MORINAGA-MILK-INDUSTRY

Morinaga
Milk Industry Co., Ltd.
(TOKYO:2264), a leading dairy product
company in Japan, today announced the results of a new study that show
how gut microbiota composition in a healthy human population changes
with age. The study, which utilized new technology for sequencing DNA,
is unique due to its size and the wide age range of its subjects
(newborn to 104 years). These factors contribute to a new, comprehensive
picture of the typical pattern of evolution of bacteria in the human gut.

Seminal research in the 1970s by Dr. Mitsuoka demonstrated drastic
changes in the composition of gut microbiota species as people age 1
(Figure 1). However, at that point in time, only about 20 to 50% of gut
microbiota species had been identified by the culture-based method.
Despite major advances in microbiota analytical technologies, to date no
large-scale analysis of the gut microbiota has been conducted to update
these important findings.

Morinaga, a pioneer in research on human gut microbiota, particularly
Bifidobacteria, conducted the research in collaboration with Dr. Ro
Osawa of Kobe University. They analyzed and compared the gut microbiota
of 367 healthy Japanese individuals ranging from newborn to 104 years
old using next-generation sequencing (a method for sequencing DNA). The
results revealed a pattern of sequential changes in gut microbiota by age2
.
The researchers also analyzed the fecal samples obtained from 441
healthy subjects by real-time PCR with species-specific primers in the
following research and confirmed long-term changes of Bifidobacterium
species in the gut.

“Over the past decade, research conducted worldwide has revealed the
crucial nature of gut microbiota to host health. However, the typical
gut microbiota in healthy individuals has not been established.” Dr.
Osawa explained. “By analyzing an enormous number of microbiota from
healthy populations in every age group, our findings could enable future
research to identify the healthy gut microbiota composition in each life
stage,” he continued.

Age-related Changes in Composition of Gut Microbiota

Figure 2 shows the sequential changes of the gut microbiota from infants
to centenarians. While many phyla rise, the phylum Actinobacteria,
including Bifidobacteria — the predominant bacteria in infants —
declines rapidly after weaning and decreases even further after age 60.
It also showed the predominance of the phylum Proteobacteria, such as Escherichia
coli
, in infants and the elderly.

Gut Microbiota Differ Greatly Among Infants, Adults and Elderly

When subjects with similar gut microbiota composition are grouped
together (clustering), distinct groups are formed according to broad age
groups
(Figure 3).
This indicates that age-related
differences in gut microbiota are greater than individual differences.
It should be noted, however, that some adult subjects were classified
into the “Elderly 1” group because they harbored gut microbiota not
typical for their age. This suggests that in some people, the age of
their gut microbiota may be greater than their chronological age.

Bifidobacterium longum Showed the Highest Detection Rate of 88.1%

Changes of Bifidobacterium
species proportions in the gut
microflora of 441 healthy Japanese populations aged from 0 to 104 years
were also investigated. B. longum
was widely detected in most
individuals, from nursing infants to centenarians. Its detection rate
was the highest among all investigated species — 88.1% — highlighting
its importance to human health. The result also indicates that B.
breve
was predominant in children under 3 years old, whereas B.
catenulatum
group and the B. adolescentis
group were
predominant after weaning.

Dr. Jin-zhong Xiao, General Manager of Morinaga’s Next Generation
Science Institute, points out that B. longum
is versatile among
microbiota species. “B. longum
was shown to be genetically
suitable to ferment both plant-derived and human milk oligosaccharide
derived sugar. This characteristic could explain why B. longum
is
the most widespread species at all ages.” 3

B. animalis
ssp. lactis
, which is not considered to be a
species of human gut microbiota was also detected in 11.4 % of subjects,
but it was restricted to individuals after weaning to less than 80 years
old. “Although B. animalis
ssp. lactis
is thought to be
not feasible for using wide variety of carbon resources in the human gut
environment, its widely-use as probiotics in commercial dairy products
might affect the detection after weaning”. Dr. Xiao remarked, “This
study showed a significant correlation of all species of Bifidobacteria
except B.animalis
ssp. lactis
,” a finding which
implies “B. animalis
ssp. lactis
is not a commensal
component in the human gut.”

“We will continue further research on human gut microbiota to contribute
to healthy human development and the prolongation of life expectancy,”
Dr. Xiao added.

About Morinaga Bifidobacteria

For over 40 years, Morinaga has conducted research and development on
Bifidobacteria — microbiota native to the human gut. Morinaga’s first
flagship probiotic, Bifidobacterium longum
BB536, is one of the
most thoroughly researched probiotics strains in the world and achieved
FDA-notified GRAS in 2009. The company’s second strain, Bifidobacterium
breve
M-16V, achieved FDA-notified GRAS and infant GRAS in 2013. For
more information, visit us at http://bb536.jp/english/index.html
.

About Morinaga

Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. is one of the largest dairy product
companies in Japan. Morinaga excels in innovative technology and offers
various dairy products and other beneficial functional ingredients to
customers around the world, and is celebrating the 100th
anniversary this year.
Visit our website at http://www.morinagamilk.co.jp/english/
.